floral pattern

I have mentioned before that Easter is a big time of year for us! This year was even more exciting! We were able to share the story of Easter with our sweet little boy, Ansel! Brian and I have a tradition of finding a matching outfit to wear to celebrate Easter Sunday! We knew we wanted to continue this tradition with Ansel, so I had to find a dress with enough fabric for two ties this year!

This is a strange story to share, but I remember when I was really little my mom would watch the movie Steel Magnolias with Julia Roberts. I’m pretty sure it was a sad movie but I never really paid attention until it was ending, because that meant my little brother and I could have the VCR back to watch Muppet’s Treasure Island again. Anyway, the last scene in that movie is the family celebrating Easter and the little boy is in a tiny blue suit! I think because of this, I have always pictured myself having a little boy and dressing him in a seersucker jacket for Easter! Actually, the dream was a matching shorts and jacket set with tall socks. But Brian stepped in and pointed out just how dorky our poor guy would look in that! So I settled for a jacket and bow tie made from my dress!

Easter this year was cold and windy!! We took a few pictures outside but didn’t really get a good one of my dress to show you all! Then a very tiny human spilled carrots (very fitting for Easter) all over my dress. So it had to make it through a laundry cycle at the Simmermacher household… Which is why you are just now seeing the finished product! Crazy right?! But I try to choose snuggles and adventures over laundry! So new moms, if your laundry room is exploding, just buy some more underwear and get to it when you have a chance;)

Here are the before pictures of my Easter dress! (Ansy snuck in a few of them! Now that he is on the move, there’s no stopping him!)

It almost had a western feel to it with the fringe! This one lost the fringed collar, sleeves and a little length off the bottom! The bow ties were more of a challenge than usual. The flowers on the dress were pretty spread apart so I had to mindful when planning where to cut the pattern so there would be flowers on the actual bows of the ties!

The print of this dress might just be my favorite that I have worked with. It reminds me so much of fabric that my grandma would have had in her quilting pile.

I didn’t do much to this dress. It really needed to be ironed after it came out of my dryer though! So I spent some time ironing it before I started cutting and sewing. I took a few inches off the bottom of the dress and few inches off of the sleeves and gave both a new hem. The shoulder pads had to go! I debated to keep the collar how it was or to simplify it. I ended up deciding to remove the bottom layer so it was a little less overwhelming and I’m happy that I did!

Have you ever wished that clothing could be more educational. I know I have! 😉 Well, you’re in luck. This dress not only looks atrocious but it also labels the types of flowers that are printed on the fabric. So you can learn the flower’s names while you’re wearing it! Botany enthusiasts everywhere are rejoicing!

The print of this dress scared me away at first. I saw it at a local thrift shop where I get most of my treasures and I passed it up. I really couldn’t imagine how I could keep it a dress and tame the fabric down enough to work for me. I was very charmed by it though, the print is super unique and the fabric is really nice quality. I told myself if it was still there on my next thrifting outing that I would have to try it. Can you believe that nobody else claimed it? I had to bring her home with me. After trying the dress on, it was clear to me that a skirt would be a nice option to tone down that fabric a little. The less of the fabric there was, the more charming it became! I ripped the seam out at the waist of the dress. I then cut off the bottom portion of the dress and gave it a new hem. The zipper in the back of the dress continued past the skirt ended at the waist so I trimmed off the extra and tacked in the ends so that I wouldn’t lose my zipper. That was it!

My new mission is to find a piece with multiplication tables or U.S presidents!